Transcript Theories of Democratic Government

Theories of Democratic
Government
Democracy has shades of meaning that must be
understood, different theories lead to different ideas
of the definition of democracy.
By: Bunralin Nheb
Power and
AUTHORITY
•Examining
political
power- who hold
government offices and
how government
officials behave in using
power.
•Authority is the right
to use power.
•Authority comes from
legal or constitutional
sources.
Constitution as a
source of authority

The Constitution today is widely accepted as
a source of legitimate authority.
 Constitutional Convention
 Thomas Jefferson

HOWEVER, legitimacy is also based on the
concept of democracy.
The Meaning of Democracy
Aristotle defines it as “the rule of the
many.”
 Second meaning of democracy is
Representative Democracy.
 It is impractical for people to decide on
all public issues, so representative must be
elected to formulate policy.

Problems of Representative
Democracy
Leadership competition
 Communication
 The number of candidates
 Paying for campaigns

Direct vs. Representative
Those in favor of direct stated that in the
spirit of direct democracy, many states
have referendums and initiatives.
 Those in favor of representative argued
that citizens do not have time and
knowledge to make good policy choices.

Distribution of Political Power
A group called Political Elite possess a
disproportionate share of power.
 They represent the actual distribution of
power in making and implementing policy.

Views of Political Elite

Class View

Power elite view

Bureaucratic view

Pluralist view
Political Change
The evolution of our
institutions and policies has
not stopped but is continuing.
 Political change is not always
accompanied by change in
policy and law but also the
policy process.

Video !

http://www.hippocampus.org/Histor
y&
Government?loadLeftClass=Course
Combination&loadLeftId=18&loadT
opicId=1286